The present invention relates to attachment pieces for shoes to create tap dancing shoes for producing a clattering rhythm beat while dancing. More specifically, the invention relates to an improved construction for tap dancing attachment pieces, wherein a more pleasing rhythm sound may be achieved than has heretofore been possible.
A number of different designs have been utilized in the construction of attachment pieces for shoes, for the purpose of creating tap dancing shoes. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,443,727, issued June 22, 1948, discloses a two-piece attachment wherein one piece is fixedly attached to a shoe and a second piece is seated within the first piece, and has a threadable screw adjustment for controlling the relative looseness of the seating arrangement. The contacting of the second piece against the first piece creates the necessary tapping sound. U.S. Pat. No. 2,739,394, issued Mar. 27, 1956 discloses a two-piece attachment for a shoe wherein one piece is fixedly attached to the shoe and the second piece is pivotally secured to the first piece adjacent one end thereof. When the shoe is lifted the pivotal member drops away from its seated position within the first piece, and when the shoe contacts the floor the second piece is pivotally forced against the first piece to create the necessary sound. Both of these patents require construction intricacies which are generally unsatisfactory for attachment to shoes, and produce generally unsatisfactory sound effects. Further, the attachment described in Morgan is downwardly pivotal away from the shoe and from the other attachment piece, and is subject to catching on any raised edge which might be contacted by the shoe. Such contact would severely damage or misalign the attachment pieces and render the shoe unusable for dancing.
In most tap dancing shoe attachments it is necessary to provide at least one attachment piece which is fixedly attached to the shoe itself. Further, it is desirable to provide a second attachment piece which relatively freely floats, so that when the shoe is raised from the floor the attachment piece becomes spaced away from its contact point against the first piece or against the shoe. When the shoe is brought into contact with the floor it is desirable that the second attachment piece firmly and consistently contact an impact point without delay so as to enable the dancer to reliably produce the sound effects desired. Further, it is desirable to construct these attachment pieces in a manner which tends to amplify the sound created upon contact, by providing some sort of hollow chamber for permitting a sound resonance to occur.
Since dancing shoe attachments necessarily are placed on the bottom of shoes they undergo considerable stress and wear during use. It is therefore necessary that these attachments be constructed simply and reliably, with a minimum of complex mechanical attachment and interaction. The attachments should not vary in their sound producing effects over long periods of use and wear, and the sound tones produced should remain relatively consistent. Further, the attachments should not be constructed of heavy or bulky material, but should be made as lightweight as possible, and as close to conformity with the surfaces of the bottom of the shoe as is possible.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide attachments for dancing shoes which reliably produce the same tonal effects over long periods of use. It is a further object of the present invention to provide dancing shoe attachments which are lightweight and which conform to the bottom shoe surface, without producing any dangerous projections for catching against edges on any floor or other surface.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide dancing shoe attachment pieces which have a simple and reliable mechanical interaction, and which provide a clear and concise tapping sound effect each time the shoe is brought into contact with a floor surface. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a tonal sound effect which is produced and amplified by a resonance created at the impact point between two metallic pieces, the noise produced thereby being created by a resonance produced by the novel construction of the invention.
The foregoing and other objects will become apparent from the following specification and claims, and with reference to the attached drawings.